1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an in-sink dishwasher for automatically washing household dishes without requiring the physical space of a built-in automatic dishwasher. The invention further relates to the dishwasher having a user interface mounted within the sink and which is covered by the lid when the lid is closed. The invention also relates to a liquid sealed user interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
In-sink dishwashers use the bowl of a sink to form part of the dishwasher housing that defines a wash chamber, with the open top of the bowl providing access to the wash chamber. A liquid recirculation system sprays wash liquid throughout the wash chamber to clean any dishes placed within. A lid covers the open top of the bowl when the in-sink dishwasher is being used to prevent the splashing or spraying of the recirculating wash liquid out of the open top of the bowl.
When the lid is closed, it is anticipated that the consumer will use the upper surface of the lid as a work surface, which may well include the preparation of food and the like. If a user interface is provided for the consumer to select the dish washing cycle and the corresponding parameters, if any, it is desirable to locate the user interface in a position where the user will not accidentally contact the user interface while the lid is used as a work surface. The accidental contacting of the user interface might undesirably impact the selected wash cycle, including prematurely terminating the wash cycle, selecting an unwanted wash cycle, or changing an operating parameter.
Since the user interface is likely to be exposed to liquid, it is also desirable to seal the user interface against liquid to protect metal components from oxidation associated with exposure to liquid and electrical components against damage.